Dunhinda Ella, pronounced "Dunghinde Elle", is the landmark waterfall of Badulla, the capital of Uva Province. Situated just about 3.5 km outside town not far from Mahiyangana Road (B36), it can be reached by hiking along a 1 km long jungle path through a picturesque valley covered with jungle. Dinhinda Ella measures 64 m in height and is formed by the Badulu Oya, the main river of the region. The name „Dunhinda“ refers from the smoky spray. In the colonial period, Dunhinda Ella was also called „Bridal Fall“, as the shape of the waterfall resembles a veil.

Although not the largest ancient reservoir of Sri Lanka, the Kala Wewa near Kekirawa is the most famous irrigation project of the Sinhalese civilization. Built by King Dathusena in the mid 5th century, the Kala Wewa allowed to diverte water from the Kala river to the area of Anuradhapura, which until then had been irrigated mainly be the waters of only one river, the Malwattu Oya. For that purpose, the „Giant Canal“ Yoda Ela, also known as Jaya Ganga, carried excess water from the Kala Wea along an 87 km long single banking canal to the Tissa Wewa in Anuradhapura, almost doubling the amount of water available in the heartland of the ancient Sinhalese civilization. The circumference of the Kala Wewa, which covers 18 square kilometers, is 65 kilometers. The length of the dam is almost 7 km. According to the Mahavamsa, a chronicle from the 6th century, the construction of Kala Wewa is intimately connected to the story of Sigiriya. Today’s travelers see the Kala Wewa when visiting the close-by Aukana Buddha, which is the largest standing Buddha from ancient times that can be seen in the Cultural Triangle. 

Trincomalee is of significance for Sri Lanka’s history because of its natural harbour. Today, it’s the capital of the Eastern Province. However, among Hindus from Sri Lanka and India, Trincomalee is most famous for ist Thirukoneshwaram Kovil, one of the major Shiva temples of Sri Lanka and South India. Destroyed by the Portuguese, the temple was newly built under British colonial rule. It attracts Hindu pilgrims from all over the world. Although the architecture is modern, the temple is also an imortant destination for heritage tourists, because it is spectacularly located on a kind of cape called Swami rock, a narrow promontory rising high above the sea.

Kitulgala, which was the setting of the movie „The Bridge on the River Kwai“, has become famous as Sri Lanka’s number one destination for white water rafting, also visited on day trips by beach holiday makers from the southwest coast. But in recent years, Kitulgala has developed into a major holiday destination in itself offering various other adventure and nature attractions, too. Kitulgala now offers a wide variety of holiday activities such as jungle expeditions for hiking and trekking, relaxing canoeing or birdwatching, exciting canyoning and waterfall-abseiling. Though Kitulgala attracts more and more guests, there are still many places of interest in the river valley and beyond that are not at all crowded. This make Kitulgala still a perfect place for those holifaymakers seeking experiences of untouched nature. Kitulgala is located in a river valley, the slopes of the hills are covered with jungles. Kitulgala lies in an intermediate zone between tropical monsoon climate and moist mountanous areas. Particularly during the southwestern high-season (from Christmas to Easter) the weather can be pretty sunny in Kitulgala.

Read our more detailed description of Kitulgala and holiday activities in and around ist river valley here...

Ambalangoda is a beach holiday destination in between Bentota and Hokkaduwa. It’s Sri Lanka‘s centre of manufacturing traditional devil masks and puppets for three kinds of rituals: Kolam plays tell mocking stories of life in the colonial period. Masks are used for exorcistic devil dancing are known Sanni, whereas Raksha demon masks are displayed at processions. There are several manufactureres and sellers of masks in Ambalangoda, some of which have exhibition rooms or museums.

Read our comprehensive article on Ambalangoda and mask manufacturing here...

Tissamaharama is the major starting point for wildlife safaris in Sri Lanka’s most famous national park, Yala, officially known as Ruhuna National Park. However, Tissamaharama is an attraction in itself. It is known as the 'Anuradhapura of the South', as it has been the capital of the a southern principality or kingdom during most of the time of the Anuradhapura period. Although not many ancient remnants can be seen that are of interest for sightseeing, Tissamaharama is an important excavation site for scientists. For tourists, several large stupas are worth noting, although theor appearance is that of modern reconstructions. Due to the several reservoirs in the surroundings, Tissamaharama is a good place for bird watching, too.